Around South Florida (Feb 23-27, 2019)

ASFL Day 1: With Harbour Towne Marina behind us, we took the big right turn to head Around South Florida (ASFL) on her maiden voyage to Punta Gorda, FL for SV Counting Stars first refit. Anchored at Key Biscayne.

ASFL Day 2: 0333 departed Key Biscayne for anchorage near Boot Key. 1844 anchored Boot Key (outside. By the numbers: 6.45kts average/9.5kts max speed; 15hr 11min; 105.5nm. Winds gusting to 22kt dropping to 5kt by late afternoon on the nose to close-hauled. Reset Delta anchor last night after dark - somehow snagged an old wooden crab pot and line which Bob was able to cut free... the deck light (standard option) and the Sena headsets (thank you Janet and Pat Hayes) made the task of resetting much easier. We woke a little earlier than planned as swells hit the anchorage and since our anchor monitor showed increased movement so we decided to depart. Upon exiting we were greeted with 1.5M seas which reduced to 0.5M in Hawk Channel. Increased marine traffic this morning and tons of crab pots this afternoon.

ASFL Day 3: 0750 departed Boot Key anchorage; 1342 arrived Stock Island marina in Key West. By the numbers: 7.3kts average/8.2kts max speed; 5hr 51mins; 41nm; winds 5-10kt beam to downwind. Lost count of the estimated thousands of crab pots in the channel. Good shakedown thus far with only minor items identified. Planning underway for overnight sail to Punta Gorda. Monitored weather closely due to storm cells building in the Gulf of Mexico.

ASFL Day 4: 0850 departed Key West (Stock Island marina) on overnight sail to Punta Gorda (Burnt Store marina) ETA 24-30hrs. Expecting light to moderate seas, winds 10-20kts. with gusts upward to 40kts due to developing storm cells in the Gulf of Mexico. Pulling weather via Iridium Go with limited mobile phone service.

ASFL Day 5: 1044 arrived Punta Gorda (Burnt Store marina), completing our overnight passage from Key West (Stock Island marina) - thus concluding our 5-day (342nm) ASFL passage. By the numbers: 6kts average/9kts max speed; 25h 47m; 5-15kt winds gusting 25kt; 1.0-3.0M seas. This overnight passage was quite eventful. We avoided the sea of crab pots (most often with 1ft to spare on each hull), were greeted by numerous dolphins, lost count of all the stars we saw... shutdown engines at 2000 so not to snag a crab pot in the dark (thanks Mike for the tip) and had great winds for 12 hours of sailing. At 2330 we were welcomed to the Gulf of Mexico by a large storm cell - delivering periods of lightening, heavy rain and 2.5-3.0M seas. Despite the rough and cold conditions for over 4 hours - SVCS and her crew performed well.